A 54% Open Rate Using Just an Unusual Subject Line

Testing subject lines can make a tremendous difference in the overall success of your email marketing campaigns. Delivra’s email marketing software offers the ability to test 3 subject lines at once in a matters of minutes.

Some general subject line tips:

If you can personalize an email with someone’s location, it makes the email more likely to be opened.

Keep the subject line to 50 characters or less but more importantly, use a distinct preheader for all of your emails. We do this in all of our client and prospect emails.

Make sure your From Line uses a person or company that the recipient expects to receive email from – many times this will be a company’s name like Delivra or Cody from Delivra, not simply Cody.

Use engaging text – love them or hate them, something must be said for how effective the Buzzfeed/Upworthy type videos at increasing clickthrough, engagement and open rates. I would recommend testing subject lines in a similar fashion to how you see Upworthy videos or Buzzfeed articles written.

To get started, you might start the headline with -

“This is the…”

“You won’t believe…”

“When you see…”

“What happens when…”

Also, try to think outside the box. For example, our average open rate at Delivra hovers around 20-25%.

We had a 54% open rate recently when I used the following unusual subject line for a webinar invite.

‘Webinar Reminder #17A47D1′

It had a preheader that read –

“Those alphanumerics don’t mean anything, but your attendance does.”

In an inbox full of sameness, simply being unique can make all the difference.

Another example, we had a 38% open rate when we sent a post webinar survey. The subject lines was -

“We know what you’re thinking…”

It had a preheader that read –

“Actually we don’t. Please fill out our content webinar survey.”

These types of subject lines may or may not work at your company. The main thing is – test, test, test and test some more. Unless you do, you will never know how large of difference a unique subject line and preheader can make in your email marketing efforts.

Lauren King

Great blog! It’s really amazing the difference a subject line can make.. especially when it’s witty like these examples

http://www.delivra.com/ Cody Sharp

Lauren, you are absolutely right (well, I don’t know if they are witty or just silly), but it does seem like in either case, it made a difference. And while open rates aren’t the end all be all of an email – you can’t get people to convert on the content within unless someone opens it first.